Tag Archives: Voting Rights Act

The status of Section 3

Posted on April 17, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Lyle Denniston looks at a key aspect of the voting rights-related lawsuits in Texas. About four years after the Supreme Court took away the government’s strongest authority to protect minority voters’ rights, a backup power under the federal Voting Rights … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Attorney General, City Council, Congress, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, lawsuit, Pasadena, redistricting, SCOTUS, Texas, The Lege, voter ID, Voting Rights Act | Comments Off

Bill to fix voting interpreters considered

Posted on April 16, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This needs to happen, and it really shouldn’t be a big deal. Almost three years after Mallika Das, a naturalized citizen who spoke Bengali, was unable to vote properly because she was not proficient in English, Texas lawmakers are considering … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged AALDEF, Election 2016, Harris County, Harris County Clerk, Joan Huffman, lawsuit, Ramon Romero, Senate, Stan Stanart, Sylvia Garcia, Texas, Texas Association of Election Administrators, The Lege, Voting Rights Act, Williamson County | Comments Off

State wants to appeal redistricting ruling

Posted on April 15, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Redistricting: The State of Texas filed a motion [Wednesday] afternoon with the three-judge panel in the Texas redistricting case, asking the panel to give the state permission to appeal the panel’s March 10 ruling on the state’s 2011 … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Attorney General, CD23, CD27, CD35, Congress, Election 2018, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, lawsuit, redistricting, Texas, Voting Rights Act | Comments Off

Voter ID law declared discriminatory

Posted on April 11, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Again. A federal judge has ruled — for the second time — that Texas lawmakers intentionally discriminated against Latino and black voters in passing a strict voter identification law in 2011. U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos ruled Monday that … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Election 2016, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, lawsuit, MALC, SCOTUS, Texas, The Lege, voter ID, Voting Rights Act | 2 Comments

Some Texas voting rights lawsuit updates

Posted on April 9, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This has been a busy week for litigation related to voting rights issues in Texas. Here are updates to some cases, all of which happened this past week. From Texas Redistricting: The three-judge panel in the Texas redistricting case has … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Congress, Court of Criminal Appeals, Department of Motor Vehicles, DPS, Election 2016, Election 2018, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Justice Department, lawsuit, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, NVRA, redistricting, Supreme Court, Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project, voter ID, voter registration, Voting Rights Act | 6 Comments

Pasadena Council not happy with redistricting appeal

Posted on April 7, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Or maybe they’re just not happy with soon-to-be-former Mayor Isbell. Either way, they showed it. In a sign of waning confidence in its legal position, the Pasadena City Council voted Tuesday to withhold payment from the law firm that’s trying … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged City Council, Election 2017, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Johnny Isbell, lawsuit, Mayor, Pasadena, Pat Van Houte, redistricting, Texas, Voting Rights Act | 2 Comments

State files opposition to motion for new Congressional maps

Posted on April 2, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Redistricting: The State of Texas has filed its opposition to redistricting plaintiffs’ request for an order that would permanently block the current Texas congressional map and require a redraw of the map for the 2018 election. The state … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Attorney General, CD27, CD35, Congress, Election 2018, lawsuit, redistricting, Texas, Voting Rights Act | Comments Off

Voter ID 2.0 passes out of the Senate

Posted on March 28, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Meh. The Texas Senate tentatively approved legislation Monday that would revamp the state’s voter identification rules, a response to court rulings that the current law discriminates against minority voters. Following more than an hour of debate, the chamber voted 21-10 … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Joan Huffman, Jose Rodriguez, lawsuit, Senate, Texas, The Lege, voter ID, Voting Rights Act | 2 Comments

An ironic might-have-been on redistricting

Posted on March 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From Rick Casey. The three judges who decided the case include one Democrat and two Republicans. Ironically, the decision may have gone the other way if one of the judges hadn’t been punished for joining in an earlier ruling in … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Barack Obama, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, John Cornyn, lawsuit, redistricting, Supreme Court, Ted Cruz, Texas, Voting Rights Act | Comments Off

Motion filed to block current Congressional map

Posted on March 24, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From the Lone Star Project. Moments ago the Plaintiffs in the ongoing Texas congressional redistricting case filed a joint motion asking the San Antonio Federal District Court for an injunction to block the use of the current congressional map during … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged CD23, CD27, CD35, Congress, Election 2018, lawsuit, Lone Star Project, MALC, Marc Veasey, NAACP, redistricting, Texas, Voting Rights Act | Comments Off

So what does that redistricting ruling really mean?

Posted on March 16, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has a good explainer. So will the Legislature redraw the congressional map? And if so, when? Here’s where it gets tricky. Friday’s order made it clear that the 2011 map cannot stand, but it did not order anyone … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Attorney General, Congress, Election 2018, Jeff Sessions, Justice Department, Ken Paxton, lawsuit, redistricting, Texas, The Lege, Voting Rights Act | 3 Comments

Another voter ID update

Posted on March 15, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From the Lone Star Project: Last week, the Trump Department of Justice brought press attention to the ongoing Texas voter ID lawsuit that remains pending before Federal District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos in Corpus Christi. The Trump DOJ withdrew long-standing federal … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, Justice Department, lawsuit, Senate, Texas, The Lege, voter ID, Voting Rights Act | 4 Comments

Court rules several Congressional districts were illegally drawn

Posted on March 12, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Bam! Some of Texas’ 36 congressional districts violate either the U.S. Constitution or the federal Voting Rights Act, a panel of federal judges ruled Friday. In a long-delayed ruling, the judges ruled 2-1 that the Texas Legislature must redraw the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018, Legal matters | Tagged Blake Farenthold, C26, CD23, CD27, CD35, Congress, Eddie Rodriguez, Election 2018, Justice Department, lawsuit, Lloyd Doggett, Lone Star Project, LULAC, MALC, Marc Veasey, Michael Burgess, NAACP, redistricting, special election, Texas, Voting Rights Act, Will Hurd | 4 Comments

We could be at the end of the road of the Pasadena redistricting case

Posted on March 11, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Mike Snyder continues his reporting on the Pasadena redistricting litigation. He notes that while the whole thing was concocted and pushed forward by current Mayor Johnny Isbel, several of the candidates to succeed Isbell are not interesting in picking up … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2017 | Tagged City Council, David Flores, Election 2017, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Gilbert Pena, Gloria Gallegos, Jeff Wagner, John Moon, Johnny Isbell, lawsuit, Mayor, Pasadena, Pat Van Houte, redistricting, Robert Talton, Texas, Voting Rights Act | 1 Comment

Once more with feeling on voter ID

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern says that Tuesday’s arguments about whether Texas’ voter ID law was enacted with discriminatory intent or not went well for the plaintiffs, and not for the state or its new buddies in the Justice Department. Tuesday’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Attorney General, Joan Huffman, Justice Department, lawsuit, Senate, Texas, The Lege, voter ID, Voting Rights Act | 1 Comment

Justice Department wants out of voter ID case

Posted on February 28, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. The U.S. Department of Justice confirmed Monday it plans to ditch its longstanding position that Texas lawmakers purposefully discriminated against minority voters by passing the nation’s strictest voter identification law in 2011. The move comes one day before … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Jeff Sessions, Joan Huffman, Justice Department, lawsuit, Texas, The Lege, voter ID, Voting Rights Act | 1 Comment

Voter ID 2.0

Posted on February 23, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Well, this is interesting. Top Texas Republicans unveiled legislation Tuesday that would overhaul the state’s voter identification rules, an effort to comply with court rulings that have found that the current law discriminates against minority groups. Filed by Sen. Joan … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged Attorney General, Dan Patrick, Eddie Rodriguez, Greg Abbott, Joan Huffman, Justice Department, Ken Paxton, lawsuit, MALC, Senate, Texas, The Lege, voter ID, Voting Rights Act | Comments Off

Pasadena won’t fight election order

Posted on February 17, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The May election in Pasadena will proceed under the pre-redistricting eight-district Council map. The city of Pasadena will not fight an appellate court ruling over its election system, a decision that will allow the upcoming May council elections to proceed … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged City Council, Election 2017, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Johnny Isbell, lawsuit, Pasadena, redistricting, single member districts, Texas, Voting Rights Act | 1 Comment

Fifth Circuit upholds Pasadena election order

Posted on February 5, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Pasadena election system that a judge ruled violated the Voting Rights Act by discriminating against Hispanics cannot be used in the upcoming May council elections, a federal appeals court ruled Friday. The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2017, Legal matters | Tagged City Council, Election 2017, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Johnny Isbell, lawsuit, Pasadena, redistricting, single member districts, Texas, Voting Rights Act | Comments Off

Fifth Circuit hears Pasadena redistricting appeal

Posted on February 3, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This is to decide whether to lift or leave in place Judge Lee Rosenthal’s ruling that the pre-2013 all-single-member-district Council map will be in place for the May elections in Pasadena. The City of Pasadena asked for the expedited hearing … Continue reading →

Interview with Jose Garza

Posted on January 30, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

So it’s been a busy couple of weeks for the voter ID litigation. There was the motion by the Justice Department to delay the hearing on whether the law was passed with discriminatory intent, which everyone expects is a prelude … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, interviews, Jose Garza, Justice Department, lawsuit, MALC, SCOTUS, Texas, voter ID, Voting Rights Act | Comments Off

Pasadena appellate hearing set

Posted on January 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Mark your calendars. With deadlines looming for the upcoming May elections, a federal appeals court has agreed to hear arguments Feb. 1 in a voting rights lawsuit that overturned the Pasadena election system. The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals … Continue reading →

SCOTUS will not review voter ID ruling

Posted on January 24, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

For now. The Supreme Court issued orders from its January 19 conference this morning. After granting review in two cases from that conference last week, the justices did not add any new cases to their merits docket today. But there … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Election 2016, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Justice Department, lawsuit, SCOTUS, Texas, voter ID, Voting Rights Act | Comments Off

Pat Van Houte for Pasadena Mayor

Posted on January 24, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This is the local race to watch this May. A Pasadena councilwoman who became a key witness in a recent federal lawsuit contesting the city’s redrawn voting districts said she will run for mayor in the upcoming election. Pat Van … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2017 | Tagged City Council, Election 2017, Gilbert Pena, Johnny Isbell, lawsuit, Mayor, Pasadena, Pat Van Houte, redistricting, Robert Talton, Texas, Voting Rights Act | Comments Off

Voter ID hearing postponed

Posted on January 22, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I fear this is a portent of things to come. Within hours of Donald Trump being sworn in as president Friday, a Corpus Christi federal court postponed a scheduled hearing in the Texas Voter ID case until next month at … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Election 2016, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Jeff Sessions, Justice Department, lawsuit, NAACP, North Carolina, SCOTUS, Texas, voter ID, Voting Rights Act | 1 Comment

Pasadena will appeal redistricting ruling

Posted on January 18, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Not a surprise. An attorney representing the city of Pasadena said Tuesday the city will appeal a ruling that found Pasadena deliberately violated the voting rights of its Hispanic population, a move that could have immediate consequences for the city’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged City Council, Election 2017, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, filing deadline, Johnny Isbell, Justice Department, lawsuit, MALDEF, Ornaldo Ybarra, Pasadena, redistricting, single member districts, Texas, Voting Rights Act | Comments Off

Final ruling in Pasadena redistricting lawsuit

Posted on January 17, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It’s official – back to the original map. With candidate registration set to begin Tuesday, a federal judge Monday prohibited the city of Pasadena from using an unconstitutional redistricting scheme in the upcoming May elections, stating that the scheme violated … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2017, Legal matters | Tagged City Council, Election 2017, filing deadline, Johnny Isbell, Justice Department, lawsuit, MALDEF, Mayor, Pasadena, redistricting, single member districts, Texas, Voting Rights Act | 2 Comments

Judge rules for Pasadena plaintiffs

Posted on January 8, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. A federal judge in Houston dealt a major blow Friday to the city of Pasadena in a closely watched voting rights case, ruling that officials deliberately diluted the clout of Hispanic voters by revising the system for electing City … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged City Council, Election 2017, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Johnny Isbell, Justice Department, MALDEF, Pasadena, redistricting, single member districts, Texas, Voting Rights Act | 1 Comment

Chris Suprun’s eventful year in voting

Posted on January 5, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

How weird is this? The self-described “voting addict” was an apparent casualty of the confusion amid legal wrangling over the state’s 2011 voter ID law. Now, [Texas Republican elector Chris] Suprun is calling for courts to clarify the rules once … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Christopher Suprun, Election 2016, Electoral College, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, lawsuit, President, provisional ballots, SCOTUS, Secretary of State, Texas, The Lege, voter ID, Voting Rights Act | 2 Comments

Motion filed to compel redistricting ruling

Posted on January 4, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From the Lone Star Project: The major plaintiffs challenging the Texas congressional and State House boundaries filed a joint motion earlier today to compel the three-judge federal district court in San Antonio to finally issue a decision on their claims … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Congress, Election 2016, Election 2018, Justice Department, lawsuit, LULAC, Marc Veasey, NAACP, redistricting, Texas, The Lege, Voting Rights Act | 1 Comment

Pasadena voting rights case in the judge’s hands now

Posted on December 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We await a ruling. Armed officers guarded a closed-door committee meeting. Discriminatory comments surfaced at City Hall. Latino-backed council members were hustled from chambers by police. The accounts of perceived intimidation and back-door dealings were detailed during testimony in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged City Council, Cody Wheeler, Election 2013, Election 2015, Election 2017, Johnny Isbell, lawsuit, MALDEF, Pasadena, redistricting, single member districts, Texas, Voting Rights Act | 1 Comment

Pasadena voting rights trial update

Posted on November 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Day One: The disparity in infrastructure is at the heart of a voting rights case that opened in federal court Thursday in which a group of Latino residents is challenging the city’s newly revised system of government, saying it discriminates … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged City Council, demography, Johnny Isbell, lawsuit, MALDEF, Ornaldo Ybarra, Pasadena, redistricting, single member districts, Texas, Voting Rights Act | Comments Off

So now what for voter ID?

Posted on November 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s hard to say how much prospects have changed now that Donald Trump gets to appoint the ninth Supreme Court justice, but it’s fair to say that thing haven’t improved for the plaintiffs. Five years ago, Texas passed one of … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Dan Patrick, Donald Trump, Election 2016, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Justice Department, lawsuit, NAACP, President, SCOTUS, Texas, The Lege, voter ID, Voting Rights Act | 10 Comments

Pasadena voting rights trial begins

Posted on November 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron’s Mike Snyder provides an update. [This] week in a Houston federal courtroom, [the Voting Rights Act] will again be invoked in a challenge to an allegedly discriminatory council system, this time in a suburban city that’s undergone a … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged City Council, Donald Trump, Election 2016, Hillary Clinton, HISD, HISD Board of Trustees, Johnny Isbell, lawsuit, MALDEF, Pasadena, President, redistricting, SCOTUS, single member districts, Texas, Voting Rights Act | Comments Off

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